Jitters in Azimio parties over joint nominations

Simmering suspicions in the Raila Odinga-led Azimio La Umoja movement escalated yesterday after one of its affiliate parties protested a proposal to hold joint primaries.

The Democratic Party of Kenya (DAP), which is associated with Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, has rejected the proposal even as National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi moved a Bill in Parliament seen as calculated to forestall fallouts in the coalition.

Members of DAP accuse officials of Raila’s ODM of being arrogant and intolerant to affiliate parties.

“The issue of joint nominations is still a big headache for us. If we are not careful ODM will dictate to us even in areas where DAP enjoys massive support,” said Butere MP Tindi Mwale.

Mwale, who recently decamped from Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC), said though the party was fully behind Raila’s quest for the presidency individual parties should be left to field candidates for every position.

“As DAP we are not going to accept to be bullied around by ODM. We are in Azimio for Raila, the rest is for us to decide which candidate to field in the various seats,” said Mwale, who spoke yesterday as the party received defectors in Nairobi.

The MP was reacting to recent comments by National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohammed that aspirants for various seats in areas dominated by Azimio must join Raila’s Orange party.

Western gains

Speaking at the same function, Matungu MP Oscar Nabulindo said whereas many parties were willing to work with the Azimio coalition, the idea of joint nominations was scaring them away.

“A lot of Kenyans believe in Raila’s candidature but we have a few individuals who have proposals that are scaring them away. If we are not careful, this idea to conduct joint nominations will end up breaking this coalition,” he warned.

DAP-K has been making key gains in Azimio strongholds especially in Western, Nyanza and parts of the North Rift.

Speaking in Siaya last week, Junet said the party will not tolerate competition in its strongholds under the Azimio umbrella.

“Siaya, Homa Bay, Kisii, Nyamira, Migori, Kisumu are all ODM strongholds. If you think you can win through another Azimio party then your journey has ended so early. If you want to be MCA, MP, Woman Rep, senator, governor here in Siaya you must be in ODM,” Junet said in Siaya.

And perhaps to prevent a possible fallout in the Azimio family after the party primaries, Minority Leader Mbadi yesterday introduced a Bill that will allow political parties to be members of another party without necessarily merging or forming a coalition and thus retaining identity.

The Political Parties (Amendment) No. 2 of 2021 seeks to provide for corporate membership in the Political Parties Act.

Parliament recently passed the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, paving the way for the formation of a coalition party.

The new law that has since been challenged in court sets timeframes for formation of coalitions.

The coalition law has been interpreted as part of plans by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Handshake partner Raila to allow the registration of Azimio La Umoja movement as a coalition and clear the way for it to field candidates in the August elections.

Under the new law, candidates will be allowed to run on either coalition party tickets or individual parties.

DAP secretary general Eseli Simiyu said that Azimio affiliated parties have started engaging on the best method to conduct primaries ahead of the April deadline.

“The reality is that nominations are a problem in all the parties and coalitions, even the coalition of ANC and UDA will have a nominations headache,” he said.

However, DAP patron Defense Cabinet Secretary Wamalwa urged the party’s supporters not to panic since they had formed a committee that will negotiate on their behalf. He said the committee will be led by former minister Noah Wekesa and Lugari MP Ayub Savula.

Kajiado contest

There are fears that without joint nominations, Azimio is likely to lose to rival parties as the coalition will split its votes.

In Kakamega, for instance, ODM has at least three governor candidates. They are Deputy Governor Philip Kutima, Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito and former Kenya Electricity Transmission Company managing director Fernandez Barasa. Savula is also gunning for the same seat under DAP.

In Vihiga, Governor Wilber Ottichilo is defending his seat on ODM while former Speaker Kenneth Marende is contesting for the same under DAP.

Vihiga Senator George Khaniri, said to be on his way out of ANC, will also be gunning for governor on an Azimio affiliated party.

This is the case in Kajiado County where Azimio nominations are already creating confusion and uncertainty.

Already, ODM followers in the county fronted their candidate, David Nkedianye, who is a former governor.

On the other hand, there is Governor Joseph ole Lenku who was elected on Jubilee ticket but is now an Azimio supporter.

Some of the counties giving backers of Azimio sleepless nights include Nairobi, Mombasa, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Siaya, Kisumu and Nyamira.

More Articles

---